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Taking mothers on trips or England: Guided versus self-guided?



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 15th, 2003, 01:16 AM
andyhumphriss
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Default Taking mothers on trips or England: Guided versus self-guided?


"Owain" wrote in message
...
"David Horne" wrote
| Owain wrote:
| After 8 days in London *I* was screaming to get out of the place :-)
| This will infuriate some, but you can "do" London in two days. One full
| day, if you have it. Sorry.

It took me two-thirds of a day to "do" the Tower. I believe in getting my
money's worth out of an admission ticket :-)

Owain



And what about the museums?
British, National History, Science, V&A?? The guys having a laugh!
And the parks and the villages and the markets and the theatres and the
shopping areas and the historical sites etc etc.
What a moron!

Andy


  #2  
Old September 15th, 2003, 01:41 AM
David Horne
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Default Taking mothers on trips or England: Guided versus self-guided?

andyhumphriss wrote:

And what about the museums?


What about them? There are hundreds.

British, National History, Science, V&A??


You could spend a fortnight at the British Museum and not appreciate
everything. So? What's a reasonable amount of time there then? 4 hours?
2 hours? A day? Two days? It's a really silly scale of measurement.
Plus, and this is a big plus I think, the British Museum is free. If
someone only wants to have a look at a couple of rooms, so what? Maybe
someone only wants to see one item- that takes a few minutes (or an hour
or more, depending.) The time thing is pointless, I think.

The guys having a laugh!
And the parks and the villages and the markets and the theatres and the
shopping areas and the historical sites etc etc.
What a moron!


No, I'm not, and keep your invective in check. Lest the context zooms
above your head, I'm simply saying that it doesn't take long to visit
London. I lived here for 2 years, and I took several guests out
(visiting for the first time) for a day or two, and they felt they got a
lot out of it. Did they get everything? No- nor does someone who has
lived in London for a decade. You could probably mention every little
place you know in London, and I'll add some to it. And so will someone
else. Etc. It all depends on the kind of detail you're talking about.
You won't visit all the sights and museums if you stay here for 4 weeks,
so the whole "you need this amount of time" is ludicrous. It depends
entirely on what you expect of the trip, and what you want to do. I
respect the right of someone who wants to do a quick visit through the
city as much as someone who will enjoy savouring every nook and cranny.
Not respecting that right reeks of a certain smugness. There will always
be _someone_ who thinks you haven't spent long enough at such-and-such a
place, so deal with it- and do what you want, based on what your
interests, enjoyments, and needs are.

I get really hissed off at this 'oh, you haven't seen city X unless
you've done Y and Z and seen A and B' attitude. It doesn't mean that a
précis of what's "important" or "famous" isn't useful for the
first-time, or even long-time, visitor- but it completely ignores the
fact that people will travel on their own schedule. If they want to pack
3 museums in one day, or just spend a whole day in one room- that's up
to them IMO.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
  #3  
Old September 15th, 2003, 02:40 AM
Deep Freud Moors
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Default Taking mothers on trips or England: Guided versus self-guided?

andyhumphriss wrote in message
...

"Owain" wrote in message
...
"David Horne" wrote
| Owain wrote:
| After 8 days in London *I* was screaming to get out of the place :-)
| This will infuriate some, but you can "do" London in two days. One

full
| day, if you have it. Sorry.

It took me two-thirds of a day to "do" the Tower. I believe in getting

my
money's worth out of an admission ticket :-)

Owain



And what about the museums?
British, National History, Science, V&A?? The guys having a laugh!
And the parks and the villages and the markets and the theatres and the
shopping areas and the historical sites etc etc.
What a moron!


Two days to "do" (gotta love the quotation marks - truly speaks volumes!)
London? I've spent longer than that just waiting for a circle line train!

With regard to the British Museum, I have been there about 4 times, and it's
the same story each time. You go in, and are overloaded within about 15
minutes due to the sheer enormous size of the place. It is sadly ironic that
there is so much incredible stuff there, that you cannot possibly appreciate
it all for its true value.
---
DFM


 




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